Zurich through Italy
 

Hubby and I are going to Europe this June, we are arriving in Zurich, leaving from Milan on miles, this is dictating our itinerary. We will be there 14 full days. Any suggested stops, using our arriving and departure destination? How many days in each city? (want to include Rome, Florence, Nice, Lake Como). Help - any advice is much appreciated.

You mention no destinations in Switzerland, so on arrival in Zurich I suggest you fly to Rome and start your itinerary there. After a few days in Rome, train to Florence. While in Florence, you can make any number of day trips by train or bus to several towns in Tuscany. After Florence, train to Lake Como. Varenna-Esino in the mid-lake area is an easy destination with Bellagio or the western shore just a short ferry ride (or two) away. Train back to Milan from Varenna and spend the night there before your departing flight.

I don't know how important Nice is to you, but it's not a very good fit with the rest of your wish list. If it's a priority, you could fly Zurich-Nice and then Nice-Rome. Trains would not be a good alternative because of the long journey times.

How many days in each city? That's up to you based on what you want to see/do. You need to develop a sightseeing list for each destination and figure out how much time you'll need. Some people like more time for Rome and Florence, others for exploring small towns in Tuscany, still others prefer the scenery and pace at Lake Como. If Tuscany appeals to you, consider renting a car for a few days.

I agree that Nice does not fit well. What does fit is Luzern, after you land in Zurich. Maybe like this:

Arrive ZHR---train to Luzern---3 nites
Train to Lugano---bus or taxi to Lago Como---2 nites
Train to Rome via Milan---5 nites
Train to Florence---3 nites[ daytrip to Siena]
Train to Milan---last nite near MXP

That is a start.

bobthenavigator, do you have a breakdown of travel town based on itinerary? No time for Venice?

You can't add both Luzern and Venice, so where exactly do you want to go?

IMO, a person's suggestion of how much time is needed in a place is only that, a suggestion. You need to decide what you want to see everywhere (which may be different from what that person would see) and figure out how much time is required.

You've now decided to INCLUDE Switzerland? Why?

The Zurich flight is dictating your feasible options, and Luzern is only 1:20 direct train from the airport.

You can sub Venice for Florence, but not time for both.
Life is a compromise.

Bob, are you sure about not getting that all in = my hubby has been before and he insists that we'll have enough time to do this

Zurich-Lake Como - 1 day
Lake Como-Venice - 4
Venice-Croatia (my friends will be there when we are) - 2
Croatia - Rome (airplane) - 3
Rome - Florence - 3
Florence to Milan - 1

Arriving on a Thursday and leaving the following Friday

oh and why Luzern? Didn't hear much on this, yes Nice is out....

OMG, you're all over the place. Now Croatia!!

You're counting your days in a place but not considering the time needed to travel there and then travel on to the next destination.

How would you get from Zurich to Lake Como? It's about 4 hours by train to just Como, then more travel time if you want to stay in the more desirable mid-lake area. Would you then stay there 2 nights in order to have one full day on the lake?

Getting to Venice from Lake Como is easy enough (4-5 hours depending on where you start and including time to reach your Venice hotel)... But how would you get from Venice to Croatia? I think the fast ferry to Rovinj takes about 4 hours, but I know the timetable isn't always convenient. Where will your friends be? Would you then have to get to Zagreb or Split to fly to Rome?

If including Croatia, I would skip Lake Como and fly Zurich-Zagreb, then ferry to Venice, train to Rome, etc. Then again, I'd probably just see my friends at home and skip Croatia altogether.

Why Lucerne? It's a charming Swiss city with lots of things to see/do that happens to be very close to where you're starting.

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/s...l-switzerland/

He is wrong!

With all due respect to your husband - I have been to europe more than 100 times - and there is no way you can have an enjoyable trip to all those places in so little time.

You might (I'm not sure, would have to check train and ferry schedules and since you're not paying me to be a traval agent I won;t) be able to all of these place physically. But maybe not.

But you will spend a huge part of your trip in transit (sitting in trains, plans or ferries) rather than actually seeing or doing anything. All of this trekking around will also make the trip very expensive.

You couldn;t pay me enough to do this.

Sounds more like a forced march than a vacation.

Yes, I hear you, I will remove Croatia. I still want to see all the major cities in Italy.

Thank you